Amnesty pans repatriation deals

Amnesty International does not want refugees returning to Afghanistan in large numbers, saying the country lacks resources and is torn by factional fighting

It has cautioned governments, including the Howard Government, against voluntary return packages for Afghan asylum seekers, claiming they should not be promoted.

In a report released in London, it singles out Australia's Afghan repatriation package, saying it puts pressure on people least able to make an objective decision. The Federal Government is offering individual Afghans $2000 and families $10,000 to return to Kabul.

"... the organisation is concerned that the offer imposes a strict time limit of 28 days within which individuals must accept it and that it applies only to those asylum seekers who are in detention, namely the persons least able to make a truly voluntary decision to return," the report said.

A high rate of repatriation could have a destabilising effect due to the lack of resources in the country and the present fragile state of affairs, it said.");document.write("

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The report cautions against governments forcing, coercing or inducing people to return home. And it also criticised comments by refugee agency UNHCR that the "time was now ripe" for Afghans to return home.

A spokeswoman for Immigration Minister Philip Ruddock denied the government was promoting repatriation packages but that time limits were necessary.